WDHOF Member Roster Detail

Anita George-Ares , 2009

Marine Biologist. Instructor. Photographer. Anita began scuba diving in 1970. She became a NAUI Scuba Instructor in 1976 and later was certified as a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer. She was a scuba instructor for 26 years. Anita has master and doctoral degrees in marine biology. She conducted post-doctoral research in aquatic toxicology. Anita has 42 years experience as a marine environmental scientist and has worked for academia, government, and industry. She has dived in 22 countries and regularly gives presentations on marine life at Beneath the Sea.

Anita studied fish taxonomy and behavior with Dr. Eugenie Clark in Japan, Mexico, and the Red Sea. She was a research diver for National Geographic's Sleeping Shark Expeditions. She participated as a research diver on Eugenie Clark’s 2014 expedition to the Solomon Islands. Her research at the Smithsonian Museum resulted in the discovery of five new fish species. She spent a year working in the U.S. House of Representatives as a recipient of a Sea Grant Fellowship provided to research seafood labeling and inspection standards. She served for five years as an industry technical representative for the United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre's Proteus Partnership for improving marine biodiversity data. She currently consults for industry on marine environmental issues.